Catch “The Comet’s Tail”
Excerpts, Writing|*
The Comet’s Tail…
Behind every great comet there’s a tale…
Markis Shaver, the Swithin Prince, has everything he ever thought he could want. He has Uly Samir — his true love — and he has found happiness again in the arms of Ryanac, his personal guard and best friend. He also has a woman any man would be proud to have as his wife to stand at his side as queen. They are on the way to the Swithin city, his homeland where he will rule as King. He’s also beginning to control the comet. It no longer has its wicked way with him. He should be happy.
Uly has the love of a wonderful man. Markis loves him. He has much to look forward to and more than he ever dreamed of obtaining. He should be in high spirits.
Ryanac has manipulated Markis into embracing love and as he always believed, it has freed the man he loves from abject misery. It has also rekindled their relationship. He should be contented.
Tressa has a good man for a husband, three men to see to her highly sexed needs and she has escaped the backward views of her nation. She should be elated.
The four of them have a tedious two-week journey to undertake. What else should they fill these boring nights with but passion? They should be ecstatic … if a little exhausted.
So, what is going wrong with their new intimate ’quartet?’
Markis has also stolen a book and he wants to try a little ’experiment’ he has found in its pages. He needs Ryanac’s help but it will let Markis deep into Ryanac’s psyche and neither of them are sure this is a good thing. Even worse, Ryanac has always been the tail of the comet but he might not be the only one following.
Behind a great man, there is another, and another … and a woman. Life should be great but even the best of relationships don’t always run smoothly. Alas, personal struggles are not the only enemy…
***
For an instant it looked as if Ryanac would take a step back, but instead he schooled his face and looked at Uly calmly. Still, the gesture came too late. Uly frowned slightly and gave a slight shake of his head.
“It’s fine,” Ryanac whispered.
“No, it’s not.” Uly’s voice was just as soft. Uly stood waiting, and as though he lost an unseen battle, Ryanac reached out to him again. This time, Uly didn’t move when Ryanac’s fingers brushed the side of his chin. The touch remained light, with Ryanac brushing his thumb over Uly’s lips. The man’s steady gaze took Uly’s mind instantly back to the other night. He didn’t know how he knew, but he had no doubt that Ryanac wanted him to part his lips and suck on his fingers. He was equally certain Ryanac would never suggest it. He would wait until Uly did so of his free will and accord.
“I’m never going to force you,” Ryanac said, as though reading his thoughts. Perhaps he did. As time passed, they seemed able to read each other more easily. A slight breeze would have carried away the softly spoken words. Inside the tent, the air lay still and oppressive.
“I know that.” Uly’s lips moved against the slightly calloused thumb when he spoke. “It’s just so many things have changed for me.” He couldn’t help displaying a rueful smile. “You’re another surprise in a long list. I need time. What surprises me is that it bothers you.”
Ryanac blinked. “It doesn’t bother me that you need time.”
Uly narrowed his gaze. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. I would have thought your hands were full enough with Markis and Tressa. Why am I important to you? Why did you have to have me?”
Ryanac grinned and dropped his hand. “I haven’t had you yet, little one.” To one of Ryanac’s size, he could get away with calling almost anyone little. “Are you still afraid of me?”
Uly shrugged. “Yes and no.”
Ryanac laughed. “I will only hurt you if you hurt Markis.”
“Then I have nothing to fear.”
“Good to hear it.”
“And you’re trying to avoid the question.”
The guard’s chest expanded as he drew in a deeper breath. That chest was impressive enough without the gesture. “I don’t like people who play me at my own game.”
Uly had called Ryanac up more than once over his habit of manipulating others to see the truth in such a way that they could not deny it. The odd thing was Ryanac still managed to get away with it even when people knew he did such things. Uly wasn’t about to be distracted. “Then you shouldn’t play at all. Why am I important to you?”
“I think I will put you back on the waster.”
“Petulant and childish. You’re better than that.”
Ryanac closed the already short distance between them and stared down at Uly. Uly was tall, almost as tall as Markis, yet Ryanac was larger still, not in height but in bulk. He was broader than Markis, and that made him considerably broader than Uly. Still, Uly managed to hold his ground with only a slight tremor running through him. He swallowed though, as Ryanac growled out his words.
“You’re important to Markis. That makes you important to me.”
A fine shiver ran through Uly, almost as if a chill hand caressed his spine. It took effort, but he finally managed to drag his gaze up to Ryanac’s face. “That’s all I get from you?”
Something passed through the other man’s face, something dark. His hands curled and flexed, almost as though he struggled not to reach out to crush him. He leaned in, forcing Uly to tilt away. The move left Uly with no choice but to angle his head back and meet Ryanac’s gaze.
“You wish to hear me say I want you?”
Uly swallowed once more. “I-I don’t know,” he murmured.
“Then what do you want?” Ryanac curved his lips into a tight, unforgiving smile. “Maybe you should think about such things before you try something like this with me again.” He turned away and began a brisk walk across the wide tent.
“I may not know what I want, but I don’t want you to just walk away from me like this.”
Ryanac growled, a full-throated rumble escaping his lips, and turned back as he did. He didn’t ease up or stop marching; he just changed direction. Reaching up, he caught Uly by the throat as he drew near. He dragged the younger man’s face next to his. An inch of space barely separated their lips. Taking a breath seemed to cool the heat in his eyes. He took two more. “You are lucky Markis is due back, or I would show you what I want from you.”
Available at Loose-Id
